February 22, Cairns, Australia

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Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – Cairns (pronounced CANS) 

I’m going to touch lightly on yesterday as well. Yesterday we were in Airlie Beach which is on the mainland of Australia but is considered part of the Whitsunday Islands. It is a jumping off point for The Great Barrier Reef. Once again, we were at a tender port with about a 30-minute ride. We took the included tour which was a drive around that was pretty unimpressive. Our driver/guide was nice and enjoyable, there just wasn’t much to see. And it was raining. We were driven to a town north of Airlie Beach and given time to wander. Not much to see, very little shopping. We did find a cup of coffee in a motorcycle shop. And there was a small grocery store. It was fun to see what they were charging for things and we did buy some local ginger beer. 

We had rain much of the day and many of optional tours were washed out. We were a couple of hours late leaving as someone on one of the tours didn’t return. (Rumor) Our tender ride back to the ship was one of the rougher ones. We can not compliment enough the Viking crew that assists us getting on and off the tenders. They do a wonderful job.

 

CAIRNS 

We started out with a lovely sunrise and rainbow. Good omens for the day.

 

We are at a dock! Yea! Off on another included tour this morning. We were allowed to wonder in the botanical garden for about 20 minutes. We could have spent a great deal more time there.

 

 

 

Then another 30-minute ride north to Palm Cove. A tourist beach. We were given an additional 30 minutes to wander here. Not sure why. Heading back towards Cairns, our driver did pull over at a spot he knew would probably have wallabies. They were in the shade of trees for the most part, but we did get to see several.

The beach at Palm Cove

These are along the beaches. 
Anyone swimming/snorkeling on excursions from
Viking was provided a "stinger suit". Head to toe
like a wet suit. Due to jellyfish and an insect in
the water that can send you to the hospital.

A wallabie, just at the tree line center

Several resting in the shade.

Mama who came out to check on her baby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once back in Cairns, we elected to get off the bus in the downtown area and walked back to the Cairns Aquarium. We had a very enjoyable couple of hours in the Aquarium. All the animals in this Aquarium are native to Australia. We then walked back to the ship along the esplanade (beach park).

A wee snake

His other end

Long necked turtle

shorter turtle

I think these were called Forest Dragons

Just a little lizard

An eel

An employee at the Aquarium was talking about the Great Barrier Reef. Covid was actually a huge boon to the Reef. With no visitors, the reef has begun to recover. They were amazed at how much better it was after only a couple of years without people.

We had missed lunch, so had a beer and a small open-faced sandwich and retired to our room. When we got up this morning, rain was forecast for much of the day. Their weather guessers are about as good as ours. It cleared off early and turned into a mostly sunny day. As we were enjoying a toddy on our veranda in the late afternoon, it started to rain again. 

We are in the wet season. And as we progress north and west, we will continue to be traveling during the wet season for this region. So far the rains are light and showery, not heavy deluges, and although we have seen thunderstorms in a couple of the forecasts, we have not seen or heard anything that resembles the thunderstorms we are used to. It is a late departure tonight so the ship is fairly quiet as many people are enjoying time ashore. 

Tomorrow is a sea day followed by our last stop in Australia. We will be anchoring at Thursday Island which is at the very tippy top of Eastern Australia and a stone’s throw from Papua New Guinea.

February 19, 2023 - Sunday - Mooloolaba

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Wednesday, February 19, 2023 – Mooloolaba 

This port was not on our original itinerary. Initially, we were scheduled to be in Brisbane. Mooloolaba (mu  lu  lahbah) is about 60 miles north of Brisbane and is another tender port. This time it is about a 30-minute ride between the ship and where we can dock the tender, whereas, in Geelong, we were only about 10 minutes from ship to dock. 

A lovely Sunrise. 

And, the sun is UP

We have opted for an optional excursion today. We’ll drive into what are referred to as the hinterlands. We’ll go up to a village (Montville) that overlooks the coast from about 1,400 feet. Montville is a quaint little village that focuses on boutique shops and restaurants. Because of the views and the landscape, it is also a destination for weddings [Hinterland Weddings]. There are also wineries in the area, and we’ll be doing some wine tasting this afternoon.

Interesting mountains along the coast

A lake due to a dam

 

We started with a latte and fruit scone. The coffee was good, the scone very good. Then we wandered a few shops and bought macadamia brittle and ginger cookies. It will be fun to share these with our friends on board. A little after noon, we headed for the winery where we were supposed to also be tasting local cheese. The cheese didn’t happen, but they did provide some chips and dip that weren’t bad. We had a choice between a flight of wine or a flight of their beer. I took the wine, Russ took the beer. Wine was okay but not great. Beer was okay and the ginger beer was really good. 

Bloom of a ginger plant. Many varieties, only a few edible.

Amazing staghorn ferns on these trees

View from Montville down to the coast

View from the winery and the unusual mountains.

Although there are kangaroos in this area, we were late enough in the day that they had already moved into the shade so there were no sightings. Back to the ship and we set sail about 5:30.

Tomorrow is another day at sea, and we should be at Whitsunday Islands on Tuesday. We started in the Atlantic, moved into the Caribbean, then the Pacific. We were in the Pacific for a long time. On leaving New Zealand we were in the Tasman Sea. Now we are in the Coral Sea and heading toward numerous other seas and gulfs.

Sydney - Day 2

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Wednesday, February 17, 2023 – Sydney – Day 2 

We started the morning with an included tour of Sydney. We had a great driver/guide. He has lived in Sydney his entire life. We drove through many different neighborhoods of Sydney and out to the headlands before a bit of time at Bondi Beach. He stopped for a photo op at a spot in the botanical gardens that are across Farm Cove from the Opera House. The view from this spot also included the Harbor Bridge behind the Opera House and is a pretty common postcard shot. It was a very enjoyable ride with one of the more entertaining guides that we have had.

An original, that seems to be growing. Lots of weeds growing out of the bricks.

Iconic shot of the Opera House and Bridge

Same spot, no trees and the whole bridge

One of the largest neon Coca Cola signs anywhere.

North Head, see yesterday's post for what this looked like before sunrise.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach - other end

 

 

 

Back to the ship in time for lunch. Then I went back out to do some exploring. I took the shuttle bus to Kings Wharf, then took the ferry from Barangaroo to Circular Quay which put me pretty close to the Opera House. As you approach the Opera House, you begin to feel just how big these buildings are. You climb a whole lot of steps up to the platform for the shells. They are amazing. Concrete and glass and over 1 million tiles. The tiles are high gloss white and a matte ivory and are set in a chevron pattern. A whole lot goes on under this level. I couldn’t explore the interior without taking one of their tours and I didn’t feel I had time for that. After wandering around for a while, I headed back to the ship. I’m so glad I took the time for an up-close experience with this amazing structure.

Lots of stairs

Close up of tiles. Only two colors high gloss white and matte ivory

Only two colors of tile make this beautiful pattern. Well over 1 million of the tiles.

This shows the ribs of the buildings. Pre-cast concrete.

 

We sail away this evening heading on to our next port of call.

Viking Neptune at dock, White Bay Cruise Terminal, Sydney, Australia.
The black boat snugged up against Neptune is a fueling vessel. It has been there all day.